BendMac 0.4.8

BendMac 0.4.8 improves startup and recovery, remembers manual controls, and reduces background work when the desktop is not bending.

Fixed

• Temporary screen-capture failures during launch, login, or wake now retry after each connection attempt finishes.
• Enabling before the lid sensor is ready now resumes when a valid reading arrives, including after the initial retry window has ended.
• Manual mode and its angle are restored together when you relaunch BendMac.
• Pausing during startup waits for the old connection to finish before reconnecting. Rapid pause and enable actions keep your latest choice.
• Capture refuses to start without excluding BendMac's own windows, preventing recursive desktop capture during startup and reconnects.
• A failed frame-rate update from an old connection no longer leaves a reconnected, visible effect running at the idle capture rate.
• Denied Screen Recording permission stops automatic retries and shows instructions for granting access.

Changed

• The animation timer stops once the effect has settled. Lid polling slows down while the desktop is clear or manual mode is active, and pauses during sleep.
• The lid sensor continues checking for a device that becomes available later.

Developer checks

• Added regression coverage for asynchronous recovery, cancellation, saved settings, and idle timers, plus live enable, bend, open, and pause cycles.
• Capture-exclusion checks now require a frame captured after the test overlay is confirmed visible.
• Removed unused shader parameters. GPU preview exports now report allocation, encoding, and file-writing failures instead of announcing success.

Updating

Use Check for updates in BendMac, or download BendMac-macOS.dmg below and drag the app into Applications. The ZIP is the signed archive used by the in-app updater.

Requirements remain macOS 14 or later and a supported Apple silicon MacBook. Lid-sensor compatibility varies by model; this release does not expand the verified hardware list.

BendMac 0.4.7

BendMac now opens its settings when you launch it from Spotlight or Raycast, even if it's already running in the menu bar. Closed and minimized windows come back too.

• The fold draws the top corners further inward, keeps the bottom edge at the hinge, and now includes the menu bar.
• The sidebar lets a little of your desktop show through, with Liquid Glass selection on macOS 26 and newer.
• The preview has a MacBook frame, playback controls, and an option to follow your actual lid angle.
• You can set the clear angle from your current lid position. Resetting appearance no longer resets that calibration.
• Desktop capture uses Retina resolution, and the preview stops animating when you close settings.
• Added Open at login and a retry button for failed screen capture connections.

Update from Check for updates in BendMac, or download the DMG below and drag the app into Applications.

BendMac 0.4.6

Closing the lid used to switch BendMac off for sleep without reconnecting afterward. This update adds that missing wake-up path.

• Remember whether the effect was enabled before sleep, then reconnect after the display and lid sensor return.
• Reopen the lid sensor connection after wake.
• Reconnect after temporary sensor, capture, or display interruptions.
• Keep manual pauses off. Pending reconnection is cancelled when you disable BendMac.
• Stop waiting after 15 seconds if the display or sensor remains unavailable, with a message to try enabling again.

Download the DMG and drag BendMac into Applications, or use Check for updates in the app.

The app builds successfully. Physical lid-close and wake behavior has not been runtime-tested on the maintainer's Mac. Apple notarization is still unavailable, so first-time installs may need Open Anyway in System Settings.

BendMac 0.4.5

A few improvements to keep BendMac quieter when idle and handle capture changes more reliably.

• The settings preview now redraws only when it changes, instead of rendering continuously. Its wallpaper blur is reused until you change the blur setting.
• Skip the blur passes when the desktop is fully unfolded, and reuse the image-scaling filter.
• Ignore frames and errors from stopped capture sessions. Cancel an in-progress connection when the display setup changes.
• Apply capture-rate changes in order when the lid moves quickly between states.
• Keep captured frames alive until the GPU finishes using them.
• Added a small, optional Buy me a Coffee link in the sidebar. BendMac stays free.

Download BendMac-macOS.dmg, open it, and drag BendMac into Applications. Existing installations can use Check for updates once the update feed refreshes.

The release build and code-signature verification passed. This release was not runtime-tested on the maintainer's Mac. The app is still not Apple-notarized, so the first download may require Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security.

BendMac 0.4.4

Removed the flare at the lower corners of the fold. The sides now taper smoothly down to the hinge.

The website and README also have a new full-laptop demo.

Download the DMG and drag BendMac into Applications, or use Check for updates. Requires macOS 14+ and Apple silicon. Not notarized yet.

BendMac 0.4.3

The fold now keeps the centre of the desktop steadier, with a gentler taper and blur concentrated near the top. The Dock stays sharp as the lid closes.

Download the DMG and drag BendMac into Applications, or use Check for updates. Requires macOS 14+ and Apple silicon. Not notarized yet.

BendMac 0.4.2

• Glassy sliding selection and soft page transitions in settings, with reduced-motion support.
• Aligned the update and status icons with the rest of the sidebar.
• Automatic update checks at launch and every six hours while running. Available updates appear in the bottom sidebar without interrupting you.

Open the DMG and drag BendMac into Applications, or use Check for updates in BendMac. Requires macOS 14+ and Apple silicon. Not notarized yet.

BendMac 0.4.1

Fixes the startup crash in 0.4.0 and restores the missing updater configuration.

Installing: open the DMG and drag BendMac into Applications. If 0.4.0 won't open, replace it with this version manually.

The ZIP is also available for manual installation and in-app updates. Requires macOS 14+ and an Apple silicon MacBook. Not notarized yet; macOS may ask for approval on first launch.

BendMac 0.4.0 (superseded)

This version has a startup bug. Please download 0.4.1 or later instead.

Changes in 0.4.0:

• Redesigned settings with system light/dark mode.
• Larger sidebar buttons.
• In-app updates through Sparkle.

BendMac 0.3.0

Reworked the fold renderer against perspective-corrected frames from the MacBook reference video.

• Content lifts upward instead of rotating into a shorter rectangle.
• Upper sides draw inward with feathered edges. The top stays filled.
• Blur transitions through four Gaussian levels, reducing sharp text ghosting.
• The bottom edge and Dock region are stabilized, and the native menu bar stays clear.
• Updated defaults migrate automatically when the previous defaults were unchanged.

Local Release build, animation math, GPU rendering, filled top edge, sharp bottom edge, and monotonic vertical mapping checks pass. The filmed reference does not contain raw lid-angle data, so exact physical-lid timing is not yet established.

Requires macOS 14+ and an Apple silicon MacBook with a lid-angle sensor. The build is signed ad hoc, not Developer ID signed or notarized. Source is available under the MIT license. Inspired by Bendy.